West Indies captain Chris Gayle said Australia's deep cricketing talent pool will ensure the country has a bright future in the game, ahead of Thursday's tour match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.

Gayle's men will take on a veritable who's who of up-and-coming domestic cricket stars, led by former Test opener Matthew Hayden, in the lead-up to their five-match one-day international series against Australia.

West Indies lost the first and third Tests on its initial tour in November and December last year, but showed promise when it fought hard to draw the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.

The skipper said the tourists hope to build some much-needed momentum going into the one-day international series with a win at Manuka Oval.

"Australia are playing good cricket, so we're up against it," he said.

"There's no time to slack off so we [must] make sure we hit that ground running.

"This game is important for us to use as good preparation leading up to the first ODI."

Gayle admitted that while he was not too familiar with most of the names in the PM's XI line-up, the Windies are expecting a tough battle against Australia's rising stars.

"The only person I might know is Matthew Hayden, and Mitch Marsh might be playing so apart from those two guys ... I don't know what team we're up against," he said.

"It's a first warm-up game and you have to take it very seriously. They can be very dangerous up against an international team.

"When they get the opportunity to come up against an international team they'll try and make the best use of it and get their name on the scoresheet and make the selectors think twice about them.

"The future for Australian cricket is very good. I've been over here the last couple of months and seen a couple of youngsters playing in the [domestic one-day] series and there's a lot of talent here."

When told by a reporter that ACT left-arm paceman Ben Oakley had his sights set on Gayle's wicket, the captain seemed surprisingly happy with the idea.

"That's good, I like the attitude of that young fast bowler so that should be his main objective," he said.

"To try and get wickets is what he's been picked for.

"It's a perfect opportunity for him and the other players to play against us and it's good experience for them, and it can actually boost their confidence [going back to their state teams]."